COMMENTARY: Nothing good about Memphis Grizzlies' salary dump with Cavs

Memphis Grizzlies forward Marreese Speights moves the ball during a game against the Miami Heat in Memphis, Tenn. The Grizzlies have agreed to trade Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and a future first-round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jon Leuer. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

That might have made it a fair deal. Although a fair deal wasn’t what the Grizzlies had in mind this time around.

“It’s a trade that had to be made from a business decision,” said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, and at least he wasn’t spinning it.

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This was about moolah and nothing else. The trade was your quintessential salary dump. The Grizzlies paid the Cavs to take Speights, Ellington and Selby off their hands. They paid with what could turn out to be a prime first-round draft pick.

So do I like the deal?

That’s a silly question, of course. What is there to like about a deal that makes the Grizzlies worse this year (by thinning the bench) and worse in the future (by giving up yet another first-round pick)? What is there to like about a deal where the only benefit to the Grizzlies is that they save some of the owner’s cash? What is there to like about a deal that diminishes a team that is off to the best start in franchise history?

It is impossible to like the deal. At best, you can defend it as a bitter but necessary pill, a logical step for a team that can’t afford to pay the NBA’s luxury tax.

It’s not like Robert Pera created the Grizzlies’ financial mess, after all. That was Mike Heisley’s work. He signed Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley to contracts that virtually assured the team would have to be broken up.

But could the Grizzlies have paid the tax this year? Yes, they could have. Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien said so just last week. They could have kept the team together for one last playoff run.

Instead, they opted for a giveaway, “a business decision,” a cash dump. Essentially, the Grizzlies decided that this team was not good enough to justify paying the tax.

Is that a logical decision?

Yeah, it might well be. The Grizzlies are fourth in the West. Do you pay millions in tax for a team whose ceiling is probably a second-round playoff loss?

That sounds ridiculous. Unless you’ve been here for a while, in which case, you maybe have a different view.

These Grizzlies may not be title contenders but they’re still the best team the city has ever had. They’re still on pace to win more than 50 games for the first time in franchise history.

So, yes, it’s jarring to be told the team isn’t worth the extra coin. It’s jarring whether you’re a player or a fan.

“It’s very challenging,” said Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley. “We built our team a certain way and you lose three guys ...”

Some will tell you the three are replaceable. And it’s not like any of them are stars. But nobody is claiming the Grizzlies roster is better today than yesterday.

Beyond that, the first-round pick going to Cleveland could be a good one. For 2015 and 2016, the Cavs only get it if it falls between picks 6 and 14. After that the pick is top-five protected. In other words, the Cavs weren’t settling for junk.

It’s not like the Grizzlies have solved their financial issues for the long term, either. They will still have to break up the core before next year. And while some are saying this allows the Grizzlies to keep the core together through the end of the season, I wouldn’t rule out another deal before the trade deadline.

Indeed, that may be one way Tuesday’s transaction turns into a win. If it helps the Grizzlies make a better deal for Gay. Now that other clubs understand the Grizzlies don’t absolutely have to make a trade to get under the tax, maybe they’ll offer more realistic packages.

In the meantime, Hollins will have to figure out how to deploy some new players. He called Tony Wroten “crucial” after practice Tuesday. There’s something I didn’t expect to hear this year.

So it should be interesting, at the very least, as this season of high promise takes an unexpected turn.